


Butterflies

by solangeloandotheradorablethings



Category: PJO - Fandom, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Child AU, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, angel bois, soft, solangelo, they're literal babeys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:34:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21802996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solangeloandotheradorablethings/pseuds/solangeloandotheradorablethings
Summary: Life's tough when you're a kid, okay?
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Will Solace, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 5
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday Dragon you ABSOLUTE UNIT (i love you!!)

“Will, why are you crying?” he must look like such a baby, “Are you hurt?”

“Nico stole my milk!”

“Aw, he’s just doing that because he wants to be your friend,”

“That’s dumb, if he wanted to be my friend he could have just asked!”

But Will was a big boy so he dried his eyes and went to play in the sand box. Nico wouldn’t bother him in the sandbox because the sign said there was no bullying allowed.

Will is the only one in his  _ entire  _ class who could read that sign; his mom reckons he’s the smartest kid in the entire world.

Will thinks she’s a bit dramatic.


	2. Chapter 2

“Whatcha making?”

“A sandcastle,” Will gives a toothy grin (mom says smiling makes all the bad things a bit better) and pats the spot beside him, “Do you want to help?”

Nico’s not sure how he’s supposed to react to pretty blond boys with pretty blue eyes, so he kicks the castle and Will’s hopes and dreams until all there’s left is a couple of sticks and water works.


	3. Chapter 3

“Will,” Naomi Solace sighs tiredly; the pain of labour doesn’t stop after birth. “You can’t keep crying after every minor inconvenience.”

“Why not! He hurt my feelings and I- and I don’t like him!”

“ Will .”

Nico swings his tiny little legs over the bright yellow plastic chair and picks at a scab on his hand. Will glares at him; he doesn’t seem to notice. “What!? He’s mean!”

“You can’t push people over!”

“He deserved it!”

Naomi Solace was tired.

“We’ll talk about this in the car.”

She looks for Nico’s parents to apologise for her son’s lack of caution but there’s no one else there.


	4. Chapter 4

“Hey Nico! Wait up!” Will scrambles to catch up, for someone so short, Nico sure could walk, “Can I walk to school with you?”

Nico doesn’t know what to think about the pretty blond boy with pretty blue eyes so he shoves his hands in his pockets and kicks the gravel on the ground, “If you want,” he mumbles,

“Your shoes are cool,” they lit up when they touched the floor. Will wanted a pair but his mom told him they were too expensive,

“Thank you,”

“Do you always walk to school alone?”

“Not always,” Nico’s not sure why he’s talking to Will. He doesn’t mind, honestly, but he’s used to spending his mornings catching butterflies and letting them go again, “Sometimes Jason comes with me,”

“Who’s Jason?” Nico doesn’t want to tell Will who Jason is. Jason is his special friend. The only friend he has in the entire world. “Is he your brother?”

“Kind of,” Will has a kind of brother and sister too; he has several.

“It’s my first time walking to school on my own, you know,” in the corner of his eye, Will spots a blue banded egg fly. The wings are so dark that they look a bit like Nico’s hair; he’s the only kid in the whole school who’s got dyed hair, “My mom usually walks me,”

“What’s it like having a mum?”

Nico doesn’t know why he says that out loud.

Will’s not so sure either.

“What, don’t you have one?”

Nico shakes his head. He feels stupid. Why doesn’t  _ he  _ have a mum? Everyone  _ else  _ has one. It’s not fair. He must look like such a loser, “No.”

“You can have mine if you want. Don’t be upset Nico, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

Will’s not sure why he’s apologising.

Nico’s not so sure either.

“That’s okay. I don’t want your mum,”

“We can share! My mom’s hugs are big enough for the both of us. She gives the best hugs in the world.” It’s true; he checked.

“You say mum weird. I’d hate to be your brother.”

“We could be friends?”

Nico shrugs and stuffs his hands so deep into his pockets he might have worn a hole into them. “Butterfly,” he mutters, Will wasn’t supposed to hear him but he does,

“Let’s go catch it.”

“Will we let it go after?”

“Of course!”

They end up being five minutes late to school. Nico can’t stop smiling.


	5. Chapter 5

“Hey,”

“Hi Nico!”

“Whatcha doin?”

“Uhm- I’m making a sandcastle.”

“Can I help?”

“Yeah! Can you plant the flowers?”

“Okay,”

“You can be the king, if you want.”

“No thanks.”

“…What if we were  _ both  _ kings?”

“Hm,” Nico likes the idea of sharing a crown with Will. He wasn’t so bad. “Maybe.”

He plants leaves instead of lavender; Will thinks it’s beautiful.

Nico’s cheeks hurt.


	6. Chapter 6

Nico waits for Will in the pumpkin patch near his house. Will doesn’t come.


	7. Chapter 7

“Hi Nico!”

“Where were you? I waited for you! Do you not want to be in my friend anymore?”

“I’m really sorry! I got in trouble with my mom because I was late to school yesterday,”

“Oh,”

“Can we still be friends?”

“Yes. Now follow me, I saw a butterfly near the swings,”

They’re best friends, now. They even held hands on their way home.


	8. Chapter 8

“I made a new friend,” Nico tells Jason when he sees him, he hops off the brick letter box and races for his hand, “His name’s Will,”

“Yeah? Do you like him?”

“He’s okay,” lie; he’s the best, “But I think I’m allergic to him.”

When Nico grows up he wants to be just like Jason. Tall and strong and handsome and very,  _ very  _ cool. Will thinks Nico’s cool and Will has never told a lie in his entire life.

“Allergic to him?”

“Yeah! When I’m around him I get a funny feeling in my tummy and my hands get all tingly!” Nico hasn’t talked to Jason in  _ ages _ . He missed him, “And I burn up when he touches me! I burn up when I  _ think  _ of him! Feel!”

Nico pulls Jason’s hand to his forehead and Jason chuckles, “You’re not allergic to him, Neeks,” he says in his wise big brother voice, “You just  _ really  _ like him.”

“Gross. I hate people.”

“Even me?”

“Yes.”

“Ouch.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Hey doctor Solace,” Nico greets Will with his best smile and sits on the carpet next to a big black bear, “I’m here for my-”

“Appointment?”

“Yes, I’m here for my appointment,”

“Hi Nico!” Will rolls up the sleeves of the oversized garbs and hangs the plastic stethoscope around his neck, “What can I do for you today?”

“Um, I think I’m allergic to my friend Will,” Will frowns and listens intently, chewed pencil in his mouth, “My tummy feels weird and I get a- a fever when we hold hands. Also um, sometimes I can’t stop thinking about him and- my hands get sweaty and gross,”

Will plots the stethoscope to Nico’s chest, “Take a few breaths for me please,” Nico does as he’s told, and Will doesn’t need his medical equipment to hear his heartbeat, “Hm, irregular breathing, rapid heart rate, high temperature- what did you say about your tummy again?”

Nico doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to Will’s fancy words. He’s just like a proper doctor.

“It’s like I swallowed a jar of butterflies.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Miss! Cecil pulled my hair!”

“Aw, he’s just doing that because he likes you.”

“ _ Yuck _ .”

Nico punches Will in the face.


	11. Chapter 11

“ _ Nico di Angelo _ .  _ Why  _ would you do that?” Nico simply smiles proudly, “Will has never been  _ anything  _ but kind to you, apologise at once. I’ll be calling your guardian about this,”

What had he done wrong?

He sees the moisture in Will’s eyes and how tightly he clutches his cheek and his stomach plummets. There aren’t butterflies in him anymore, “Will?”

“It’s okay, Miss. Nico didn’t mean it.” He feels sick, “It doesn’t even hurt that much,” he’s bleeding. Blood. He’s  _ bleeding _ . Bruises. He hurt him. He hurt  _ Will _ .

He feels,

“I’m sorry, Will, I’m really, really sorry- I didn’t know!”

“That’s okay, Nico. I forgive you,”

Sick.

“I’m sorry,”


	12. Chapter 12

“Nico? Nico!” Will swats the icepack away from his cheek. It didn’t hurt  _ that  _ much, “Are you okay? Why are you crying? Where does it hurt?”

He can’t look. At his hands or Will’s cheek.

So he points at his heart and rubs his eyes, “Here, it hurts here.”

Will doesn’t know how to mend hearts. He offers a hug; it works perfectly. “It’s okay, Nico, it’s okay,”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,”

“I know,”

Nico doesn’t know how to fix mistakes. He offers to kiss it better; it works perfectly. Will’s skin tingles for weeks on end.


	13. Chapter 13

Incredible.

“Whatcha making?” he’s filled out his voice now, it’s smoother and more gentle. He’s taller, too, almost the same height as Will now. Almost, but not quite,

They’ve been apart for so long that he’s almost forgotten his pretty dark hair and pretty dark eyes,

“A powerpoint about the circulatory system,” he still does that little half smile and he still smells the slightest bit like apple juice, “I’m learning how to mend hearts,” and he’s still utterly breathtaking.

And yet,

Nico still hasn’t learnt how to react to pretty blonde boys with pretty blue eyes, so he scrawls his number on the back of Will’s hand and kisses him on his cheek.

He still feels-

Butterflies.


End file.
